Rent-To-Own Fintech Inks $183.5M Deal With AGs

By Brian Steele

The rent-to-own financing company Acima has reached a $183.5 million deal with 43 states to resolve claims that it misled consumers about the terms of its rental-purchase agreements and deceptively marked up prices, the Connecticut attorney general said Thursday.

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Merchants Sue OCC Over Push To Preempt Ill. Swipe-Fee Law

By Jon Hill

Merchant trade groups sued the government Thursday in D.C. federal court to overturn recent rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that seek to shield banks from Illinois state limits on swipe fees, arguing the "slapdash" preemption effort exceeded the agency's authority.

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Ill. Judge Sets Chicago DOJ Testimony Despite Bid For Clarity

By Lauraann Wood

The Illinois federal judge probing potential falsehoods and undue influence behind a push to prosecute six U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters solidified an early December date to hear U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and others' testimony on the matter, after blasting the government's "immaterial" bid for more pre-proceeding clarity.

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Remembering Richard Posner: A Prolific Jurist

Judge Richard Posner died Tuesday at age 87, leaving a legacy as one of the most influential members of the judiciary who never served on the U.S. Supreme Court. Here, Law360 revisits its coverage over the years of the prolific retired Seventh Circuit judge, including interviews with him about his pragmatic approach to the law, his belief that the courts mistreat pro se litigants and his love of felines.

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Posner Remembered For Wide Influence, Pragmatic Approach

By Ryan Boysen

The iconoclastic, prolific and hugely influential U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard A. Posner is being remembered for a lifetime of relentless advocacy for a more pragmatic approach to the law and a legacy that will ripple through American jurisprudence for decades to come.

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NYC, LA, Other Cities Seek To Halt Latest HUD Grant Terms

By Rachel Riley

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and dozens of other cities across the country that have challenged the Trump administration's grant restrictions are asking a Washington federal judge to block a new round of funding conditions from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Senate OKs Bill Letting CBP Share Counterfeit Shipment Data

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would give U.S. Customs and Border Protection the ability to provide detailed shipment information about suspected counterfeit imports to brands, online marketplaces and logistics companies.

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Family Dollar Settles FTC, States' Pricing Claims For $63M

By Jared Foretek

Family Dollar agreed Thursday to spend $63 million to settle a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general accusing it of charging customers above advertised prices on shelves and price tags.

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Toyota Says Inverter Defect Suit Fails In Light Of Recall

By Mike Curley

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. and its affiliates are urging an Illinois federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging it sold hybrid vehicles with an inverter defect, saying the lead plaintiff hasn't alleged any damages because his vehicle was repaired, and he was given loaners, free of charge.

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Baker McKenzie Sued Again Over Data Breach Affecting 54K

By Lauraann Wood

Baker McKenzie has been hit with more proposed class privacy claims over a data breach it suffered over the summer, this time in Illinois by a service provider who says his private information was compromised in the hack.

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7th Circ. Wary Of Reviving Bid To Block DEI Grant Cuts

By Celeste Bott

Seventh Circuit judges appeared skeptical Thursday of an Illinois nonprofit's bid to block the Trump administration's cuts to its education grants, questioning whether the organization had ruled out future spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and whether the funding cuts amounted to viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Crowell & Moring Finance Litigation Head Joins Norton Rose

By Andrea Keckley

Norton Rose Fulbright has welcomed the New York-based head of financial services litigation at Crowell & Moring LLP as a partner, saying his hire will bolster its services to corporations, financial institutions and private capital clients.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen Olympic gold medalist Daley Thompson target gym chain Hybrid Fitness for an alleged breach of contract, investor claims continue to mount against building materials giant Kingspan, and real estate magnate Mike Kohan be sued by property lender Decama Finance.

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Longtime DC Steptoe Partner Joins Potomac Law Group

By Jack Rodgers

An attorney who spent more than 28 years as of counsel for Steptoe LLP's complex commercial litigation team has moved to Potomac Law Group's office in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Friday.

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Memories Of Weil: From Childbirth To The Lehman Bankruptcy

By Aebra Coe

Those who worked within the walls of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP over its 95-year history have built up countless personal and professional memories. Here, six former attorneys and staff share some of their top memories.

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Analysis

How AI Became The 'Backseat Driver' In Settlement Talks

By Chris Villani

Attorneys say the ubiquitous use of artificial intelligence by clients has put up barriers to resolving cases by giving litigants unrealistic expectations about their claims, introducing inaccurate or irrelevant case law, and making them second-guess their hired legal counsel more often.

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Hall Booth Beats Appeal Over Failed DQ Bid In Med Mal Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appellate panel rejected a bid to disqualify Hall Booth Smith PC from representing a hospital and healthcare company in a medical malpractice suit, finding that the firm's prior representation of another defendant in the case is not materially adverse to the interests of its current clients.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

DLA Piper and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Massachusetts federal judge said she would reduce an $88 million verdict awarded to an Alabama couple in the first bellwether hernia mesh trial against Medtronic subsidiary Covidien LP.

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Kasowitz Denies Columbia Students' Deal Overcharge Claims

By Adrian Cruz

Kasowitz LLP asked a New York state judge Friday to dismiss a suit by a group of Columbia University students accusing it of wrongfully taking more than $6 million from a 2025 settlement in a suit over alleged antisemitism on campus, calling the complaint a "publicity stunt" that fails to prove the firm engaged in malpractice.

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Beltway Moves: Weil, Dechert, WilmerHale

By Alison Knezevich

Washington, D.C., attorneys from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP continued to land new roles in some of the most recent legal industry hiring developments in the nation's capital.

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Judge Says Email, Not Bias, Cost Public Defender His Job

By Kelcey Caulder

A federal magistrate judge recommended that the Georgia Public Defender Council be freed from an attorney's suit alleging he was fired for complaining about racial bias and then hit with a retaliatory bar complaint, finding that an email he sent to his colleagues was what actually led to his termination.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

The top story of the week – the spy and romance thriller at AI chipmaker Nvidia – continues to unfold in layers, as the company hired Wachtell Lipton to probe its involvement in possible national security violations, saw its CEO resign in disgrace, tried to defend its general counsel's intervening in a related China inquiry, was pulled into congressional investigations, and faced an investor's lawsuit over the mess.

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Western Va.'s Top Federal Prosecutor Latest To Face DQ Bid

By Jack Karp

The lawyer leading the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia is the latest top federal prosecutor to have the legality of their appointment challenged in court, as a defendant in a gun case claims the office's leader was placed through a series of "machinations," "games" and "cynical measures."

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ABA Council Backs Law School Course, Faculty Rule Changes

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council that handles law school accreditation voted Friday to relax standards related to online course credits and courses taught by full-time faculty, requirements that critics have claimed contributed to higher tuition rates.

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Fox Rothschild Fights Revival Of Malicious Prosecution Suit

By Rose Krebs

Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to deny an adult daycare company's bid to undo the toss of its malicious prosecution suit against the firm and one of its attorneys, saying the court didn't err in dismissing the complaint.

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Mich. State Police Chief Can't Shake Ex-Aide's Distress Claim

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan State Police director must face an emotional distress claim brought by his former executive assistant, a state Court of Claims judge has determined, finding that she sufficiently alleged Col. James Grady threatened her with a baseless internal investigation unless she accepted a demotion reducing her hourly pay by $8.

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How Nonprofits Are Adjusting To A New Pro Bono Landscape

By Alison Knezevich

Legal advocacy groups face a changed pro bono landscape during Trump's second administration. With some large firms avoiding cases against the federal government, nonprofit leaders say they are developing volunteer networks, relying on smaller shops and solo practitioners, and leaning more on their own staff attorneys to carry the pro bono load. 

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AI Played Key Role In Miami Boat Crash Acquittal, Atty Says

By Carolina Bolado

Artificial intelligence tools played a key role from jury selection to closing statements in a recent high-profile criminal trial over a boat crash that killed one teenager and left another permanently disabled, the defense attorney who secured a not guilty verdict said Friday during a panel discussion in Miami on AI in litigation.

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Mich. Tribal, State Courts Both Aim To Tackle Legal Deserts

By Susan Smiley

The newly named co-chairs of the Michigan Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum, Judge Carol Montavon Bealor and Judge Hannah Bobee, agree their respective court systems share one crisis: a lack of attorneys in rural areas.

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Balancing The Scales: Trans Prisoner Care, Immunity In Mich.

By Orlando Lorenzo

The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed gender transition medical services to continue to be offered in federal prisons, and the Sixth Circuit ruled that prison officials in Michigan can't claim immunity from allegations that they knew of mold contamination that led to seizures and respiratory issues among incarcerated women.

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Arizona Law Clinic Takes Legal Aid For Veterans On The Road

By Marco Poggio

Law students and their supervising attorneys drive hours from Tucson to bring free legal help to veterans in rural Arizona. On the Hopi Reservation, the University of Arizona's Veterans' Advocacy Law Clinic works with tribal partners to help veterans file disability claims and seek discharge upgrades that could open the door to benefits.

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Raskin Seeks Judiciary Gavel, High Court Ethics Curbs

By Courtney Bublé

In making his bid to be elected House Judiciary chair, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Friday said ethics reforms for the U.S. Supreme Court are among his top priorities.

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Goodwin Taps Simpson Thacher For Insider Trading Fight

By Chris Villani

Goodwin Procter LLP has hired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to represent it as an alleged victim of an insider trading scheme that Massachusetts federal prosecutors say was orchestrated by a former Goodwin associate, according to a Friday filing seeking to oppose the attorney's request for records in redacted filings.

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